Environment-Dependent Radiation Tolerance of Graphene Transistors under Proton Irradiation

Electronic devices based on two-dimensional materials are promising for application in space instrumentation because of their small size and low power consumption, and irradiation tolerance of these devices is required because of the existence of energetic particles in aerospace conditions. We investigate the performance degradation of graphene field effect transistors (GFETs) with 3 MeV protons by using an in situ irradiation facility. Our results indicate that GFET performance degraded severely at the ion fluence of 8 x 1011 cm-2. Surprisingly, although the performance of the proton-irradiated GFETs is difficult to recover in vacuum, it can nearly completely recover within hours when the GFET is moved into an air environment, indicating that the performance change is due to the charge accumulation in SiO2 under proton irradiation rather than the lattice damage of graphene. Our results have great importance for the application of 2D devices in aerospace and other radiative environments.

Automated summary

Electronic devices based on two-dimensional materials have the potential for space applications due to their small size, low power consumption, and radiation tolerance. However, the performance of graphene field effect transistors (GFETs) degrades severely when exposed to 3 MeV protons. Surprisingly, the performance can almost completely recover when the GFET is moved into an air environment. These findings are important for the application of 2D devices in aerospace and other radiative environments.